Casting apparatus.



.R. GUSSER;

CASTING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED FEB.8, 1911.

1,047,5 1 3. Patented Dec. 17,1912.

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Arm/WW5 UNITED STATES PATENT Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed February a, 1911.,

mi re ma rial No. 607,421 e I Minden, i. W., Empire of Germany, have invented a new and useful Improvement in- Casting Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus, especially for use by dentists, for casting small articles of metal or. other material, in which air is compressed and admitted under pressure into a heated mold, so as to force the molten metal therein into those portions of the mold which are shaped to form the finished casting,

One of the objects of my invention is the provision of an apparatus of this kind in which a compressing-or pumping mechanism is movable away' from the mold, but which is capable of readily being placed into close relationship and operative communication therewith when desired.

Another object of my invention is thev provision of an automatic device for holding the piston of the pumping mechanism in the upper, position of this part and for releasing said piston immediately beforethe cylinder has reached its lower position in which it is in communication with the mold.

Other objects will be pointed out or will otherwise appear in the following descrip 'tion of one embodiment of my invention in which 1 Figure 1 is a front elevation of the apparatus with the pumping mechanism in its lower position, Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, Fig. 3 is a'front elevation with the pumping mechanism in its upper position, Fig. 4 is a vertical section througha part of the apparatus and Fig. 5 is a plan view 'of the mold heating device.

In the apparatus illustrated, the refer ence character a indicates a bed plate upon which a frame is erectedwhich consists ofthe vertical columns'c and the transverse head 6. The closure plate 03 slidably mounted on said columns carries the pump barrel or cylinder g, extending vertically above the plate, and the closure plunger e extending vertically below the plate, coaxial withand in communication with the pump cylinder. Suitably mounted within the parts have reached the pump barrel is a piston in providediwith a. piston rod 71 which extends throughvt-he upper end of the barrel and' carries--:1upon its upper end weight 'lcwhich' maybe secured to the rod i in anysuitable-mannera: Each side of theclosure plate d" is provided with an upwardly-extending pull' rod d to the end of each ofwhich'is-secured a cord at. Each of the cords n passes upwardlyfrom the pull rod to which -it=isQ secured and passes over a pulley mi-abov'ethe pull-rod and the pulley m 'at theend iof the frame head b. After'passing overl the pulleys m, the cords extenddownwardly at the side of the frame and meetina com-mmon handle grip 1. To the lower end 'of the handle Z, a cord n is fastened,-which is provided at its lower endwith-a ring,' the latter being adapted'to engage witha'hook a secured to the base plate a for retaining the pump mechanism, in an obvious man,- ner, in its upper position.-. The piston 7L,.pisto'n rod i and weight 70 together with the cross plated maybe raised to the upper position by a downwardlyex erted pull on the handle l and 'the-rin'gon thecord n" may be engaged with the' hookz to hold the parts in thisposition'. It will be readily understood that upon disengagin g' the ring from the hook,'the-pumping'mechw" nism may be lowered to its lower position. A catch device consisting of a pawl 79, pivoted to the frame" member-b andretractile springs 79 eachhaving' 'one -'end' se I cured to the pawl and the otherend secured to the member 6, the-springs servin'g'flto force the upper end of the pawl'toward the piston rod, to cooperate wit'h' agro'ovefo therein, is provided for the purpose offholding the piston and its associated parts ,inthe upper position. hen the'handle l is pulled downwardly, the closure plate d,"c1osure"e and-pump barrel 9 move upwardlyfand carry with them the piston 71., piston rod and weight k, the pawl p bmshingalong the piston rod during this movement springing intothe groove 0 thereinatt'he termination of the upward movement when heupp'er' 'p ia The closure plate, closurean'd pu'm1'i*bari'el may now be lowered without affecting the position of the piston and its associated parts.

' of the springs p out of engagement with the on its pivot so grooe 0 of the piston rod. The piston it together with its associated parts is now free to fall.

Upon the bed plate a is mounted a gas burner .9 provided withthree burner openings t and three ribs it upon which the mold f is adapted to rest. The burner is further provided with a plurality of burner pipes '11 extending vertically upward from the burner and positioned so as to surround and project flames upon the mold. The mold is thus heated from below by virtue of the burner openings t and from the sides by virtue of the burner pipes 'v. A burner 00 provided with gas and air inlets is mounted on the base plate a in such a manner as to be movable in any direction. It will be readily understood that this burner may be swung as to direct a flame on the upper portion of the mold. A jacket w supported on pins w projecting from the periphery of the burner s surrounds the mold heat therefrom.

When the mold f, whichmay be of any suitable kind has been prepared, it is placed upon the burner 8 within the pipes 'v, the pump mechanism being in the upper position, and is heated from all directions by the burners s and an. After this heating process has been continued until the metal within the mold has been melted, the cross plate d together with the barrel 9 and the closure e, is lowered in the manner hereinbefore described. Immediately before-the closure becomes seated upon the mold, the catch pawl releases the weighted piston, as described, and the piston falls and strongly compresses the air in the piston barrel. The compressed air is thus forced into the mold above the molten metal therein through the aperture in the closure '6 and the molten metal is consequently in the path of escape of heated driven forcibly into that part of the mold which is to contain the casting. It will be noted that during the descent of the plate 02' and barrel 9, before the actuation of the catch pawl 19, there is a relative movement between the barrel 9 and the piston h which results in the drawing of air into the barrel.

This air is 'in a heated condition, and the plate'cZand barrel 9 are likewise heated, because situated above the heated mold and A rod 9, fixed to the plate cZ, ex-

f' for preventing the dissipation of air from the mold. Consequently, when the catch pawl 19 is actuated and the piston h descends, it forces air in a heated state into the mold, thus preventing the quick cooling and hardening of the metal and the conse quent more o r less defective casting which would result from the forcing of cold air into the mold. It will be further noted that after the plate d and barrel 9 have been released from their upper position, the further operations of the apparatus are entirely automatic and the apparatus requires no attention fromthe operator until it is desired to remove the finished casting from the mold.

I I claim:

1. In a casting apparatus, the combination of a, mold, a closure adapted to be seated upon said mold and provided with a passageway, a pump element adapted to be placed in communication with said mold through said passage-way, a second pump element movable relatively to said first mentioned pump element, means for moving said 'pump elements to a position removed from said mold, means for holding said second pump element in its removed position while the first pump element is moving to a position in which it is in communication with said mold, and means for disengaging said holding means, substantially as and fo the purpose described. 1

2. In a casting apparatus, the combina tion of a mold, means for heating said mold, a closure for said mold, having a passageway and movable toward and from said mold in the path of escape of heated air from said mold, a pump piston, a pump cylinder cooperating with said piston and in communication with I said passageway, means for causing-a relative movement of the cylinder and piston while the closure moves toward the mold, whereby heated air is drawn into the cylinder and means for causing a relativemovement of the cylinder and piston when the closure has become seated on the mold, whereby the heated air previously drawn-into thecylinder is forced into the mold, substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. In a casting apparatus, the combination of a mold, a movably mounted closure therefor, a pump barrel mounted on said closure, a piston in said barrel, means for holding the piston immovable while the closure is moving to seat upon the mold and means for disengaging said holding means immediately before the closure has become seated upon the mold, substantially as and for the purpose described.

4.111 a casting apparatus, the combinationof a mold, a vertically movable closure therefor, a pump barrel mounted on said closure, a weighted piston in said barrel, a catch device for holding the piston in its upper position ,While the closure is moving my hand in the presence of two subscribing to its lower position in which it is seated witnesses.

upon the mold and means for disengaging said catch device immediately before the ROBERT S 5 closure has reached its lower position sub- Witnesses:

stantially as and for the purpose described' MARTA L. THOMPSON,

In witness whereof I have hereunto set T. L. Bonnm.

Copies" of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. 0'. 

